Richard Thompson (West Virginia)
Richard Thompson (b. October 2, 1952) is a former Democratic member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, who represented District 19. He was first elected to the chamber in 2000.
He represented District 19 from 2012 to June 15, 2013 and represented District 17 from 2000 to 2012. He served as Speaker of the House from 2006 until 2013. He resigned to take a position as the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Assistance. He was appointed to the position by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin (D).[1]
Thompson served in the West Virginia State House of Delegates from 1980 to 1982.
Biography
Thompson earned his B.S. in Criminal Justice from Marshall University. He went on to receive his J.D. from West Virginia University College of Law.
Thompson has been Divorce Commissioner for Wayne County, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Wayne County, General Council for the Town of Fort Gay, and General Council for Crum/Lavalette Public Service Districts. He also served in the United States Army from 1972 to 1974.[2]
Thompson was a candidate for Governor in the 2011 special election. He placed second in the primary held on May 14, 2011, behind Earl Ray Tomblin.
Committee assignments
2013-2014
In the 2013 legislative session, Thompson served on the following committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Rules, Chair |
| • Government and Finance, Chair |
| • Special Investigations, Chair |
| • Interstate Cooperation, Ex officio non-voting |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Thompson served on these committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Education Accountability, Ex officio non-voting |
| • Government and Finance, Chair |
| • Health and Human Resources Accountability |
| • Interstate Cooperation |
| • Rule-Making Review |
| • Rules, Chair |
| • Special Investigations, Chair |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Thompson served on these committees:
| West Virginia committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Rules |
Elections
2012
Thompson ran for re-election in the 2012 election for West Virginia House of Delegates, District 19. Thompson and incumbent Don Perdue advanced unopposed in the May 8 primary election. He was challenged by Don Perdue and Randy Tomblin in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[3][4][5]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Rick Thompson Incumbent |
40.7% | 7,623 | |
| Democratic | Don Perdue Incumbent |
36.4% | 6,817 | |
| Republican | Randy Tomblin | 23% | 4,308 | |
| Total Votes | 18,748 | |||
2011
West Virginia was not scheduled to hold a gubernatorial election until 2012. However, elected Democrat Joe Manchin gave up the seat to join the U.S. Senate in the 2010 midterms. Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, also a Democrat, took over the office as the Lieutenant Governor of West Virginia is a title accorded to the legislator elected as Senate President, and is next in succession to the office of governor.
Thompson's gubernatorial platform touched on pushing the legislature to work seriously at dealing with unfunded liabilities; he stated his refusal to consider borrowing from pension funds to meet unrelated liabilities. He also spoke about repairing infrastructure as an end in itself and as a job-creating engine.
On education, Thompson was unequivocally against charter schools and argued for giving teachers more input into education and for building the role of technology in classrooms.[6]
He placed 2nd in the primary, behind Earl Ray Tomblin.
| 2011 Race for Governor - Democratic Primary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| Jeffrey V. Kessler | 5.30% | |||
| Arnie Moltis | 0.38% | |||
| John D. Perdue | 12.54% | |||
| Natalie E. Tenant | 17.30% | |||
| Richard "Rick" Thompson | 24.11% | |||
 Earl Ray Tomblin
|
40.37% | |||
| Total votes | 126,888 | |||
2010
Thompson was re-elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates District 17. He was one of two candidates running for the two District 17 Delegate positions on the ballot in the November 2, 2010, general election. Since only the two top vote-getters were elected, they were both unopposed.[7][8][9]
| West Virginia House of Delegates, District 17 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Richard Thompson (D)
|
6,509 | 52.42% | ||
| Don C. Perdue (D)
|
5,909 | 47.58% | ||
| West Virginia State Senate, District 17 Democratic Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Richard Thompson (D)
|
2,984 | 52.83% | ||
| Don C. Perdue (D)
|
2,664 | 47.17% | ||
2008
In 2008 Thompson was re-elected to the West Virginia House District 17. Thompson (D) finished with 8,108 votes and was followed by Don Perdue (D) with 7,121 votes and Lisa Peana (R) with 4,624 votes.[10] Thompson raised $186,355 for his campaign fund.[11]
| West Virginia House District 17 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Richard Thompson (D)
|
8,108 | |||
| Don Perdue (D)
|
7,121 | |||
| Lisa Peana (R) | 4,624 | |||
Campaign finance summary
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Endorsements
2012
In 2012, Thompson’s endorsements included the following:
- The West Virginia AFL-CIO's Committee on Political Education[12]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Thompson and his wife, Beth Chambers, have four children.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Richard Thompson West Virginia House. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Ballot News: Race for W.V. House Speaker looms with special session
- West Virginia special gubernatorial election, 2011
- Earl Ray Tomblin
- Governor of West Virginia
External links
- Official list of West Virginia's November 2, 2010 candidates
- Office Website - West Virginia House of Delegates
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000
- Richard Thompson on Facebook
Footnotes
- ↑ WSAZ, "W.Va. House Speaker Rick Thompson Stepping Down," May 16, 2013
- ↑ Project Vote Smart - Rep. Thompson
- ↑ WBOY.com, "West Virginia General Election Results November 6, 2012" accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - General Election - November 6, 2012," accessed February 12, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - Primary Election - May 8, 2012," accessed February 12, 2014
- ↑ The Register-Herald, "Gubernatorial candidate profiles: Democrat Rick Thompson," April 29, 2011
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - General Election - November 2, 2010," accessed February 11, 2014
- ↑ West Virginia Secretary of State, "Statewide Results - Primary Election - May 11, 2010," accessed February 11, 2014
- ↑ Official General Election Results
- ↑ West Virginia House election results
- ↑ Campaign funds
- ↑ herald-dispatch.com, "W.Va. candidates receive endorsements," March 08, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
West Virginia House of Representatives District 19 2012–present |
Succeeded by NA |
| Preceded by - |
West Virginia House of Representatives District 17 2000–2012 |
Succeeded by NA |
